What is real?
by Dragon Skellington
Summary: Jack finally finds a best friend, even if it was in a place he didn't expect.


**A/N: This fic was inspired by Lost Boy by Ruth B. I recommend listening to it but it's not necessary. I own none of the characters.**

When I awoke, it was dark, and it was cold, and I was scared. But then, then I saw the moon. The Man in the Moon chased the darkness away and pulled me out of the water. He told me my name was Jack Frost. That was the first and only thing he ever said to me. I tried asking the people of a nearby village where I was, but they couldn't see or hear me. Worse, they walked straight through me, as if I were a ghost. The experience shocked me and I ran.

I wandered aimlessly, stopping back by the lake I had woken up in when I wanted rest. In those early days I was back to being alone and scared. The Man in the Moon never spoke to me again; no answers to my numerous questions or acknowledgment of my pleas when I broke down and begged him to say something, _anything_. I eventually ran into other spirits. They might answer a few questions if nothing else. They were the ones that told me that those people had walked through me because they didn't believe in me. They then added that if they didn't believe in me, then I was unimportant and should stop bothering them.

That was the extent of my contact with anyone for a long time. Manny ignored my existence. Other spirits found me annoying. Kind ones would answer a question or two then shoo me away. Others would ignore me, insult me, or avoid me. I had fun pranking the ones who insulted me. They deserved it and already disliked me, so I felt no need to try and win them over. Then there were the people who didn't believe in me, didn't know I existed and walked through me. That was the worst. Every time it happened I felt cold and empty. I avoided direct contact with anyone whenever possible as a result.

I had no home, save the lake where I rested. I had no memories before waking up in the lake, and no idea if I should have any. I had no friends or family. I was totally alone.

One of the only people I met and got along with was Sandy. I would run into him while he was out bringing good dreams to children and I was spreading snow. He was busy but he still made time to talk to me. He was kind and answered questions patiently. Sandy was a really good listener and he had a lot to say despite never speaking aloud. He could never stay too long since he was always working, but he was the first person I could call a friend.

My generally lonely existence was only made worse by a lack of escape. I had one friend who was very busy, and I didn't want to annoy him. My dreams weren't any better. I didn't sleep often, but when I did I often had nightmares. Nightmares about drowning or about people always walking through me and unable to hear me as I called out for help were the most common. I knew the few good dreams I had were probably Sandy's doing. He had told me once that he could tell when someone needed good dreams. It wouldn't surprise me if he had helped me, but he couldn't always be there and he needed to focus on the kids, not me. So one night I screwed up the courage to ask him for help. Sandy listened, and in the end gave me a small pouch. He explained that it was filled with his Dream Sand. If I wanted pleasant dreams all I needed to do was sprinkle a little of the sand on myself. I would fall asleep immediately, so I had to be careful of where I was. I thanked Sandy and left him to continue working and flew back to my lake, eager to try this out.

I settled high in a tree on a comfortable branch that I was unlikely to fall from. Taking a small pinch of the Dream Sand I placed the pouch in my pocket, hooked my crook on one arm, leaned back, and let the Sand fall on my forehead. I instantly started drifting off to sleep and the last thing I felt was my arm falling across my face.

When I opened my eyes next I appeared to still be in the woods by my lake but the sun was up, and I was sure it had been dark when I passed out. Did I just not remember my dream? That couldn't be right. Maybe I should ask Sandy about this. As my mind flitted about in confusion I saw a shadow fly overhead. Curious as to what that was I leapt off my branch and flew after the dark shape.

As I broke through the treetops, I saw the shape was a dragon with someone on its back. I followed the creature and rider, hoping to catch up and figure out who it was. The figure turned their head towards me, and then sped up. They weren't going to lose me that easily. I flew faster to try and shorten the distance. The dragon and rider tried speeding up, sharp turns, and even dipping down among the trees to lose me. I eventually determined that the rider was probably a boy around my age based on the small glimpses of him I caught during the chase. The great part of the chase was that it wasn't really serious. It felt more like a game of tag played in the air. If the rider wanted me gone for real, he and the dragon could have easily attacked me, tried to hide, or even tried to outpace me. They didn't do any of that. They weren't letting me win but they seemed as entertained by the chase as I was, if the snatches of laughter were anything to go by. Eventually, the game of tag became almost a dance in the air, where we weren't allowed to touch but still swirled gracefully around each other.

Finally, I put on a sudden burst of speed that placed me in front of the dragon and rider, forcing them to stop. We simply hung in the air for a second, breathing hard and red faced from all the excitement. The dragon was a sleek, black lizard with bright green eyes. It seemed to regard me with curiosity and wariness. The rider was a boy, younger than me but not by much. He seemed like he would be a bit shorter than me when standing and looked thin but healthy. He had intense green eyes that matched the dragon's, reddish brown hair that hung around his face, and was wearing a shirt that matched his eyes with a brown vest. I hadn't realized how long I had been looking the boy over until he cleared his throat.

"So are you just going to keep staring at me or what? Nice flying, though. We haven't had a challenge like that in a while." the boy said, looking me over as he spoke. It seemed like he was following the dragon's example of assessing me.

"Sorry about that. You're not so bad yourself. I haven't really had fun like that in a long time. What's your name?" I asked. I hoped he would answer; I already liked this kid.

"Hiccup, and this is Toothless. Who are you?" Hiccup answered. It was an interesting name.

"Jack Frost. My name is Jack Frost. So, are you up for another round or…?" I let the question trail off, really hoping the boy would stick around a bit longer. Hiccup was more fun to be around than anyone else I had ever met.

"Maybe, or we could take a break and, I don't know, talk for a while?" Hiccup said with a cute and kind of nervous smile. I was too stunned to speak for a second. Hiccup wanted to talk to _me_? The only one who ever wanted that was Sandy, and even then it was because I sought him out first. Then I realized I hadn't answered and the grin on the other boy's face was starting to fade.

"Yes! Definitely. I'd love to talk for a bit. I know the perfect spot. Come on." I rushed the words a bit but I had to get them out before Hiccup thought I wasn't interested. I lead the boy and dragon back to my lake. We sat under a tree while Toothless alternated between sitting next to us and cavorting about the clearing. We talked for a long time, I wasn't sure how long. It didn't seem to matter. We talked about almost anything we could think of. Interests, hobbies, people, and stories were all fair game. There were only a few things I refused to talk about right now. I wouldn't answer or would redirect the conversation if it came to topics like family, memories, and what other spirits thought of me. I wasn't going to scare Hiccup off by being the weirdo with no friends yet. Maybe later, if he hadn't left yet, I could tell him. For now though, I kept quiet and just enjoyed talking to this interesting guy.

I wasn't sure how long I had been talking to Hiccup but eventually I did have to go. We said goodbye and made a promise to meet up again. We would definitely be racing again soon, and both of us had enjoyed the conversation. I went to leave, only to suddenly feel very tired. The world around me seemed to go hazy, then faded to black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on the tree branch I had fallen asleep on when I had dosed myself with the Dream Sand. I was lying exactly as I remembered falling asleep. I felt rested, if a bit sore from not moving, after the long sleep without nightmares.

I wasn't sure what to make of this. Hiccup was the most interesting person I had ever met. He actually liked being around me. He was the most perfect friend I could ever ask for. It made for the perfect dream. That was the sticking point though, it was just a dream. My perfect friend wasn't real. It made for bittersweet memories of our time in the woods.

I went on with life as best I could. I still brought snow to different places, played tricks, and acted normally. I thanked Sandy again for the Dream Sand, thankful he didn't bring up what the dream had been about. I even got to visit Hiccup once or twice without the Sand. I could still visit him in my dreams, though without the Dream Sand I wasn't guaranteed to have that dream. So when I finally needed to see him again I dosed myself with Dream Sand and slipped into the world where my best friend lived.

After that second time I was hooked. In the dreams Hiccup and I would play games, talk, have races and contests, and just have fun. I couldn't be with anyone else like this. I needed to spend time with this boy and he wasn't annoyed about spending time with me. Dosing myself with the Sand became a regular thing. The dreams were the best part of my life. I started spending longer stretches of time asleep, just so I wouldn't have to face reality again so soon. I lost track of how long I would sleep, or how often. I just couldn't stop visiting my best friend.

I think the real turning point came when I actually told Hiccup about how lonely I really was. I hadn't brought it up directly in all the time we had been talking, and I felt he needed to know. I needed either his support or for this to be over if this was going to scare him away. I told him about my lack of memories, the fact that I had one friend, and how everyone else barely tolerated me. I think that was also the first time I called him my best friend. In the end, Hiccup didn't leave. He didn't think I was a freak. He told me about how he didn't fit in where he grew up, and that his first real friend was Toothless. He told me that he liked being around me and that, if I wanted, I never had to be lonely again. I wanted this. I wanted to believe this boy so badly, but it was all a dream. Hiccup was the most real person I have ever met. He likes me for me and wants to be my friend. He is one of the most important people in my life, but he isn't real. Is he? Then why does his very presence make me feel warm, loved, like no one else ever has? This feels real. And for the first time, I chose to forget that this was all a dream. I accepted Hiccup's words as my best friend's assurances that I didn't have to be alone. And it felt amazing.

From that point on my use of the Dream Sand only increased. It got to the point where I had hardly woken from one dream before I was falling into the next one. I knew I should probably be doing my job, but I didn't care. I wasn't the only winter spirit who could bring snow. Besides, it's not like anyone would miss me. The Man in the Moon ignored my existence anyway. The other spirits hated me. Sandy might miss me. I felt a little guilty about not talking to him in so long. But he was probably busy; he shouldn't have time to worry about me. I put any thoughts about the little guy out of my head and went back to focusing my attention on Hiccup. I wasn't hurting anyone by being here. In these dreams I felt loved and free.

Eventually I needed the dreams to change, to go further. I was tired of waking up to the world that didn't care that I existed. I wanted to stay with Hiccup. I remembered him telling me about his home, the island he grew up on. I suddenly knew that was what I needed. I needed us to leave these woods. If I wanted to stay here I needed to see more of this world and going to Hiccup's home seemed perfect. I told him I wanted to see it. He agreed to take me to it. I poured all of my belief into my best friend and trusted that he would guide me to the island. As we took off and began flying, we passed over the town where everyone would walk through me. I had told Hiccup what happened there, and we had avoided it since. Now, flying over it, and not planning on coming back, I felt truly free. I never had to see that place again. I didn't have to be lonely anymore. I had my best friend by my side, and we never had to be apart.

We flew for what felt like a long time before we caught our first glimpse of the island of Berk. It was small, rocky, and half covered in a dense forest. It was absolutely beautiful in my eyes. We touched down in a gorgeous meadow. We had all the space we wanted to fly, explore, and just be ourselves. Here I was loved and free. Here I would stay, and never have to go back to what felt like a terrible dream.

 **A/N: When writing this I did a little digging into what Sandy's Dream Sand actually does. Sandy can hear anyone's wishes. When exposed to Dream Sand the resulting dream is an answer to that wish. That's when the actual plot of this fic became a thing.**


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